TAMIL NADU REGULATION OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF
LANDLORDS AND TENANTS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2018
Preamble - TAMIL NADU REGULATION OF
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF LANDLORDS AND TENANTS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2018
THE TAMIL NADU
REGULATION OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF LANDLORDS AND TENANTS (AMENDMENT)
ACT, 2018
[Act No. 39 of 2018]
[14th July, 2018]
PREAMBLE
An Act to Amend the
Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants
Act, 2017.
BE
it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Tamil Nadu in the
Sixty-ninth Year of the Republic of India as follows:--
Section 1 - Short title
This
Act may be called the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of
Landlords and Tenants (Amendment) Act, 2018.
Section 2 - Amendment of section 2
In
section 2 of the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of
Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017 (Tamil Nadu Act 42 of 2017) (hereinafter
referred to as the principal Act),--
(1) for clause (a), the following clause shall be
substituted, namely:--
"(a)
"agreement" or "tenancy agreement" means the written
agreement executed by the landlord and the tenant as required under this Act
and shall include a sub-tenancy agreement and sub-lease agreement;";
(2) for clause (c), the following clause shall be
substituted, namely:--
(c)
"landlord" means a person, who for the time being is receiving, or is
entitled to receive, the rent of any premises, on his own account, if the
premises were let to a tenant, and shall include his successor-in-interest:
Provided
that where a person is receiving rent for any premises is entitled to so
receive, on account of, or on behalf of, or for the benefit of, any other
person who cannot enter into a contract (such as minor, person with unsound
mind, etc.), whether as a trustee, guardian or receiver, then, the said
trustee, guardian or receiver shall also be a landlord for the purposes of this
Act;";
(3) in clause (f), for the expression "except for
industrial use", the expression "except the premises registered under
the Factories Act, 1948 (Central Act LXIII of 1948)" shall be substituted;
(4) for clauses (i) and (j), the following clauses
shall be substituted, namely:--
"(i)
"Rent Authority" means an officer appointed under section 30;
(j)
"Rent Court" means a Rent Court constituted under section 32;";
(5) for clause (l), the following clause shall be
substituted, namely:--
"(l)
"Rent Tribunal" means the Rent Tribunal constituted under section
35;".
Section 3 - Substitution of section 4
For
section 4 of the principal Act, the following sections shall be substituted,
namely:--
"4.
Tenancy Agreement.--
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or
any other law for the time being in force, no person shall, after the
commencement of this Act, let or take on rent any premises except by an
agreement in writing.
(2) Where, in relation to a tenancy created before the
commencement of this Act, no agreement in writing was entered into, the
landlord and the tenant shall enter into an agreement in writing with regard to
that tenancy within a period of ninety days from the date of commencement of
this Act:
Provided
that where the landlord or tenant, fails to enter into an agreement under this
sub-section, the landlord or tenant shall have the right to apply for
termination of the tenancy under clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 21.
(3) Every agreement referred to in sub-section (1) and
sub-section (2) and any tenancy agreement in writing already entered into
before the commencement of this Act, shall be registered with the Rent
Authority by the landlord or tenant, by making an application in the Form
specified in the First Schedule within such time as may be prescribed.
(4) On receipt of application under sub-section (3),
the Rent Authority shall, within a period of thirty days, register the
agreement subject to the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder,
and provide a registration number.
(5) The Rent Authority shall reject the application
submitted under sub-section (3) for reasons to be recorded in writing, if such
application does not conform to the provisions of this Act or the rules made
thereunder:
Provided
that no application shall be rejected unless the parties have been given an
opportunity of being heard.
(6) The Rent Authority shall upload the name of the
parties, details of the premises and tenure of the tenancy of all tenancies
along with the registration number to be provided under sub-section (4), in the
form and manner as may be prescribed, on its website within fifteen days from
the date of registration.
4-A.
Effect of non-registration.--
No
document required to be registered under sub-section (3) of section 4 shall,
unless it has been registered,--
(a) affect any immovable property comprised therein, or
(b) confer any power to adopt, or
(c) be received in evidence of any transaction
affecting such property or conferring any right.".
Section 4 - Amendment of section 5
In
section 5 of the principal Act, for sub-section (3), the following sub-section
shall be substituted, namely:--
"(3)
If a tenancy for a fixed term ends and has not been renewed or the premises
have not been vacated by the tenant and where the landlord has not demanded
possession of vacant premises at the end of such tenancy, the tenancy shall be
deemed to be renewed on a month-to-month basis on the same terms and conditions
as were in the expired tenancy agreement, for a maximum period of six
months.".
Section 5 - Amendment of section 6
In
section 6 of the principal Act, for sub-section (2), the following sub-section
shall be substituted, namely:--
"(2)
In the event of the death of a tenant, the right of tenancy of residential and
non-residential premises shall devolve for the remaining period of tenancy to
his successors-in-interest in the following order:--
(a) spouse;
(b) sons, daughters or daughters-in-law being the widow
of a pre-deceased son;
(c) either or both of the surviving parents:
Provided
that the successor had been ordinarily living or working in the premises with
the deceased tenant upto his death.".
Section 6 - Substitution of section 8
For
section 8 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted,
namely:--
"8.
Rent payable.--
The
rent payable in relation to a premises shall be,--
(a) in case of new tenancies entered into after the commencement
of this Act, the rent agreed to between the landlord and the tenant at the
commencement of the tenancy;
(b) in case of tenancies entered into before the
commencement of this Act, where no agreement was executed between the parties,
the rent agreed to between the landlord and the tenant in the agreement
executed between them under sub-section (2) of section 4 ;
(c) in case of tenancies entered into before the
commencement of the Act, where an agreement in writing was already entered
into, the rent agreed to between the landlord and the tenant in such
agreement.".
Section 7 - Amendment of section 9
In
section 9 of the principal Act, sub-sections (5), (7) and (8) shall be omitted.
Section 8 - Substitution of section 10
For
section 10 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted,
namely:--
"10.
Rent Authority to fix or revise rent.--
The
Rent Authority, on an application made by the landlord or tenant, shall fix or
revise, as the case may be, the rent and other charges payable by the tenant
and also fix the date from which the revised rent becomes payable, in
accordance with the tenancy agreement entered into between the parties.".
Section 9 - Amendment of section 11
In
section 11 of the principal Act, in sub-section (2), for the expression
"within one month after vacation of the premises", the expression
"at the time of taking over of possession of the vacant premises by the
landlord" shall be substituted.
Section 10 - Substitution of section 12
For
section 12 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted,
namely:--
"12.
Agreement to be given to the tenant.--
The
landlord shall give one original signed and registered agreement to the tenant
within fifteen days of the agreement being registered with the Rent
Authority.".
Section 11 - Amendment of section 13
In
section 13 of the principal Act, after sub-section (2), the following proviso
shall be added, namely:--
"Provided
that where the rent or other charges have been paid by the tenant to the
landlord through electronic medium, the bank acknowledgement shall be
considered as proof of payment.".
Section 12 - Amendment of section 14
In
section 14 of the principal Act, sub-section (5) shall be omitted.
Section 13 - Amendment of section 15
In
section 15 of the principal Act,--
(1) for sub-sections (3) and (4), the following
sub-sections shall be substituted, namely:--
"(3)
In the event of tenant's refusal to carry out the scheduled or agreed repairs,
the landlord shall get the repairs done and the tenant shall be liable to pay
the same to the landlord within a period of one month from the date of issue of
notice by the landlord.
(4)
In case the landlord refuses to carry out the scheduled or agreed repairs, the
tenant can get the work done and deduct the same from rent:
Provided
that in no case such deduction from rent shall exceed fifty per cent of the
agreed rent for one month.".
Section 14 - Amendment of section 20
In
section 20 of the principal Act, in sub-section (4), for the expression
"as may be prescribed", the expression "incurred but shall not
be more than rupees five thousand" shall be substituted.
Section 15 - Amendment of section 21
In
section 21 of the principal Act, in sub-section (2),--
(1) for clause (a), the following clause shall be
substituted, namely:--
"(a)
that the landlord and tenant have failed to enter into an agreement under
sub-section (2) of section 4.";
(2) for clause (g), the following clause shall be
substituted, namely:--
"(g)
that the premises let for residential or non-residential purpose are required
by the landlord for occupation for residential or non-residential purposes for
himself or for any member of his family or for any person for whose benefit the
premises were held.".
Section 16 - Amendment of section 22
In
section 22 of the principal Act,--
(1) in sub-section (1), for the expression "two
months", the expression "three months" shall be substituted;
(2) in sub-section (2), for the expression "the
Rent Court may levy a penalty on the landlord which may extend to ten thousand
rupees", the expression "he shall be liable to penalty imposed by the
Rent Court, which shall not be more than twenty five thousand rupees"
shall be substituted;
(3) after sub-section (2), the following sub-section
shall be added, namely:--
"(3)
Where a landlord has acquired any premises by sale, gift, lease or exchange, no
application for recovery of possession of such premises shall lie under clause
(g) of sub-section (2) of section 21 until the period specified in the tenancy
agreement, in respect of the tenancy created before such transfer, has elapsed:
Provided
that if prior to such transfer, the tenant had not entered into a tenancy
agreement with the previous landlord, then the landlord and the tenant shall
enter into such agreement in the manner and within the period specified in
sub-section (2) of section 4.".
Section 17 - Amendment of section 24
In
section 24 of the principal Act, in sub-section (2), for the words "simple
interest", the word "interest" shall be substituted.
Section 18 - Substitution of Chapters VI and VII
For
Chapters VI and VII, the following Chapters shall be substituted, namely:--
"CHAPTER - VI
APPOINTMENT OF RENT
AUTHORITIES, THEIR POWERS AND FUNCTIONS
30.
Appointment of Rent Authority.--
The
Collector shall, with the previous approval of the Government, appoint an
officer, not below the rank of Deputy Collector to be the Rent Authority for
the area within his jurisdiction to which this Act applies.
31.
Power and procedure of Rent Authority.--
The
Rent Authority shall have the same powers as are vested in Rent Court under
this Act, in any proceeding under sections 9, 10, 14, 15 and 20 of the Act. The
procedure as laid down in section 36 and 39 of the Act shall be followed in
disposal of such applications.
CHAPTER - VII
RENT COURTS AND RENT
TRIBUNALS
32.
Constitution of Rent Court.--
(1) The Government may, by notification, constitute
such number of Rent Courts in as many urban areas as may be deemed necessary by
it:
Provided
that where there already exists a Rent Court, the Government may designate the
same as the Rent Court under this Act:
Provided
further that where there does not exist any Rent Court, the Government may
designate any other Court established under any other law as the Rent Court
under this Act.
(2) Where two or more Rent Courts are constituted for
any urban area, the Government may, by general or special order, regulate the
distribution of business among them.
(3) A Rent Court shall be headed by a Presiding Officer
to be appointed by the Government in consultation with the High Court.
(4) No person shall be eligible to be appointed as
Presiding Officer of the Rent Court unless he is a member of the State Judicial
Service.
(5) The Government may, in consultation with the High
Court, authorize the Presiding Officer of one Rent Court to discharge the
functions of the Presiding Officer of another Rent Court also.
33.
Appeals.--
(1) An appeal shall lie against the order of the Rent
Authority made under this Act to the Rent Court having territorial
jurisdiction.
(2) An appeal under sub-section (1) shall be preferred
within thirty days from the date of the order made by the Rent Authority.
34.
Jurisdiction of Rent Court.--
Notwithstanding
anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, in the areas
to which this Act extends, only the Rent Court and no Civil Court shall have
jurisdiction, except the jurisdiction of Rent Authority under section 31, to
hear and decide the applications relating to disputes between landlord and
tenant and matters connected therewith and ancillary thereto under this Act:
Provided
that the Rent Court shall, in deciding such applications relating to tenancies
and premises, give due regard to the provisions of the Transfer of Property
Act, 1882 (Central Act IV of 1882), the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (Central Act
IX of 1872) or any other substantive law applicable to such matter in the same
manner, in which such law would have been applied had the dispute been brought
before a Civil Court by way of suit.
35.
Constitution of Rent Tribunals.--
(1) The Government may, by notification, constitute
such number of Rent Tribunals at such places as may be deemed necessary by it
and notify a Rent Tribunal as Principal Rent Tribunal, where more than one
Tribunal is constituted:
Provided
that where there already exists a Rent Tribunal, the Government may designate
the same as the Rent Tribunal under this Act:
Provided
further that where there does not exist a Rent Tribunal, the Government may
designate any other Tribunal established under any other law as the Rent
Tribunal under this Act.
(2) The Rent Tribunal may consist of one or more
benches, with each bench being headed by an Appellate Member. The senior most
Appellate Member of the Rent Tribunal shall function as the Principal Appellate
Member. The Principal Appellate Member may, on application, transfer appeal
cases from one bench of the Rent Tribunal to another. Similarly, the Principal
Rent Tribunal may, on an application, transfer appeal from one Rent Tribunal to
another Rent Tribunal, and all the members of Rent Tribunal shall be appointed
by the Government in consultation with the High Court.
(3) No person shall be eligible to be appointed as an
Appellate Member of the Rent Tribunal unless he is from State Higher Judicial
Service.
36.
Procedure of Rent Court and Rent Tribunal.--
(1) Subject to any rules that may be made under this
Act, the Rent Court and the Rent Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure
laid down by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act V of 1908), but
shall be guided by the principles of natural justice and shall have power to
regulate their own procedure, and the Rent Court shall follow the following
procedure, namely:--
(a) the landlord or tenant may file an application
before the Rent Court accompanied by affidavits and documents, if any;
(b) the Rent Court, then, shall issue notice to the
opposite party, accompanied by copies of application, affidavits and documents;
(c) the opposite party shall file a reply accompanied
by affidavits and documents, if any, after serving a copy of the same to the
applicant;
(d) the applicant may file a rejoinder, if any, after
serving the copy to the opposite party;
(e) the Rent Court shall, then, fix a date of hearing
and may hold such summary inquiry as it deems necessary.
(2) In every case, before the Rent Court and the Rent
Tribunal, the evidence of a witness shall be given by affidavit. However, the
Rent Court and the Rent Tribunal, where it appears to it that it is necessary
in the interest of justice to call a witness for examination or
cross-examination, such witness can be produced and may order attendance for
examination or cross examination of such a witness.
(3) The provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
(Central Act V of 1908) regarding service of summons shall be applicable
mutatis mutandis for service of notice by the Rent Court or Rent Tribunal.
(4) Every application or appeal, shall be, as far as
possible, in the forms as may be prescribed.
(5) The Rent Court shall not ordinarily allow more than
three adjournments at the request of a party throughout the proceedings and in
case it decides to do so, it shall record the reasons for the same in writing
and order the party requesting adjournment to pay the reasonable cost.
(6) (a) All applications under clauses (a), (b), (c),
(e), (f) and (h) of sub-section (2) of section 21 shall be decided within 90
days of filing of application to the Rent Court;
(b) Applications under clauses (d) and (g) of
sub-section (2) of section 21 shall be decided within 30 days of filing of
application to the Rent Court.
37.
Powers of Rent Court and Rent Tribunal.--
(1) The Rent Court and the Rent Tribunal, for the
purpose of discharging their functions under this Act, shall have the same
powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
(Central Act V of 1908) for the purposes of,--
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any
person and examining him on oath;
(b) requiring the discovery and production of
documents;
(c) issuing commissions for examination of the
witnesses or documents;
(d) issuing commission for local investigation;
(e) receiving evidence on affidavits;
(f) dismissing an application or appeal for default or
deciding it ex-parte;
(g) setting aside any order of dismissal of any
application or appeal for default or any other order passed by it ex-parte;
(h) execution of its orders and decisions under this
Act without reference to any civil court;
(i) reviewing its orders and decisions; and
(j) any other matter as may be prescribed.
(2) Any proceedings before the Rent Court or Rent
Tribunal shall be deemed to be a judicial proceedings within the meaning of
sections 193 and 228, and for the purpose of section 196, of the Indian Penal
Code, 1860 (Central Act XLV of 1860) and the Rent Court and the Rent Tribunal
shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section 195 and Chapter
XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974).
(3) For the purpose of holding any inquiry or discharging
any duty under this Act, the Rent Court may?
(a) after giving not less than twenty-four hours notice
in writing, enter and inspect or authorize any officer, subordinate to him, to
enter and inspect, any premises at any time between sunrise and sunset;
(b) by written order, require any person to produce for
his inspection such books or documents relevant to the inquiry, at such time
and at such place as may be specified in the order.
(4) The Rent Court may, if it thinks fit, appoint one
or more persons having special knowledge of the matter under consideration as
an assessor or valuer to advise it in the proceeding before it.
(5) Any clerical or arithmetical mistake in any order
passed by the Rent Court or any other error arising out of any accidental
omission may, at any time, be corrected by the Rent Court on an application
received by it in this behalf from any of the parties or otherwise.
(6) The Rent Court may exercise the powers of a
Judicial Magistrate of First Class for the recovery of the fine under the provisions
of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974) and the Rent
Court shall be deemed to be a Magistrate under the said Code for the purposes
of such recovery.
(7) An order made by a Rent Court or an order passed in
appeal or revision, or review under this Chapter shall be executable by the
Rent Court as a decree of a civil court and for this purpose, the Rent Court
shall have the powers of a civil court.
(8) The Rent Court may set aside any order passed
ex-parte if the aggrieved party files an application and satisfies it that
notice was not duly served or that he was prevented by any sufficient cause
from appearing when the case was called for hearing.
(9) Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act,
every order made by the Rent Court shall, subject to decision in appeal, be
final and shall not be called in question in any original suit, application or
execution proceedings.
38.
Appeal to Rent Tribunal.--
(1) From every final order passed by the Rent Court, an
appeal shall lie to the Rent Tribunal, within the local limits of whose
jurisdiction the premises is situated and such an appeal shall be filed within
a period of thirty days from the date of final order along with a copy of such
final order.
(2) The Rent Tribunal, upon filing an appeal under
sub-section (1) shall serve notice, accompanied by copy of appeal to the
respondent and fix a hearing not later than thirty days from the date of
service of notice of appeal on the respondent and the appeal shall be disposed
of within a period of one hundred and twenty days from the date of service of
notice of appeal on the respondent.
(3) Where the Rent Tribunal considers it necessary in
the interest of arriving at a just and proper decision, it may allow documents
at any stage of the proceedings in appeal, however, this facility would be
available to the applicants only once during the hearing.
(4) The Rent Tribunal may, in its discretion, pass such
interlocutory order during the pendency of the appeal, as it may deem fit.
(5) (a) While deciding the appeal, the Rent Tribunal,
after recording reasons therefore, confirm, set aside or modify the order
passed by a Rent Court;
(b) The decision of the Rent Tribunal shall be
final and no further appeal or revision shall lie against the order.
(6) On application of any of the parties and after
notice to the parties and after hearing such of them as have desired to be
heard, or of its own motion without such notice, the Principal Rent Tribunal
may, at any stage, transfer any case from one Rent Court to any other Rent Court
for disposal.
(7) Where any case has been transferred under
sub-section (6), the Rent Court to whom the case has been transferred subject
to any special direction in the order of transfer, proceed from the stage at
which it was transferred.
39.
Execution of the order.--
(1) The Rent Court shall, on application of any party,
execute in the manner as may be prescribed, a final order of any other order
passed under this Act by adopting any one or more of the following modes,
namely:--
(a) delivery of possession of the premises to the
person in whose favour the decision has been made;
(b) attachment and sale of the movable or immovable
property of the opposite party;
(c) attachment of any one or more bank accounts of the
opposite party and satisfaction of the amount of order to be paid from such
account;
(d) appointing any advocate or any other competent
person including officers of the Rent Court or local administration or local
body for the execution of the order.
(2) The Rent Court may take the help from the local
government or local body or the local police for the execution of the final
orders:
Provided
that the help of police shall be obtained subject to payment of such cost by
the litigants as may be decided by the Rent Court.
(3) The Rent Court shall conduct the execution
proceedings in relation to a final order or any other order passed under this
Act in summary manner and dispose of the application for execution made under
this section within 30 days from the date of service of notice on opposite
party.".
Section 19 - Substitution of section 43
For
section 43 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted,
namely:-
"43.
Officers and other employees of the Rent Court, Rent Tribunal and the Rent
Authority.--
(1) The Government may, in consultation with the Rent
Court or the Rent Tribunal or the Rent Authority appoint such officers and
employees as it considers necessary for the efficient discharge of their
functions under this Act.
(2) The salary and the allowances payable to, and the
other terms and conditions of service, of the officers and of the employees of
the Rent Court or the Rent Tribunal or the Rent Authority, as the case may be,
appointed under sub-section (1) shall be such as may be prescribed:
Provided
that where there already exists a Rent Court or the Rent Tribunal or the Rent
Authority, the Government may designate the existing officers and employees as
the officers and employees of the Rent Court or a Rent Tribunal or a Rent
Authority, as the case may be, under this Act.".
Section 20 - Substitution of First Schedule
For
the First Schedule of the principal Act, the following Schedule shall be
substituted, namely:--
"THE FIRST
SCHEDULE
[SEE SECTION-4(3)]
APPLICATION FOR
REGISTRATION
To
The
Rent Authority,
........................................
........................................
(Address)
(1) Name and address of the landlord including email id
and contact details (optional):
(2) Name and address of the Property Manager (if any),
including email id and contact details (optional):
(3) Name(s) and address of the tenant Including email
and contact details (optional):
(4) Description of premises let to the tenant including
appurtenant land, if any:
(5) Date from which possession is given to the tenant:
(6) Rent payable as in section 8:
(7) Furniture and other equipment provided to the
tenant (if any):
(8) Other charges payable:
(a) Electricity:
(b) Water:
(c) Extra furnishing, fittings and fixtures:
(d) Other services:
(9) Duration of tenancy (Period for which let):
(10) Attach original executed Tenancy agreement:
(11) ID Proof of landlord submitted:
(PAN/Aadhar/Voters
ID/Passport/Driving License)
(12) ID Proof of tenant submitted:
(PAN/Aadhar/Voters
ID/Passport/Driving License)
Name and Signature of landlord:
Name
and Signature of tenant:
Encl.:
(1) Tenancy Agreement
(2) Copy of the self-attested ID proof of landlord
(3) Copy of the self-attested ID proof of
tenant.".